Ball bat

ABSTRACT

A ball bat is revealed. The ball bat includes a bat body made from metal. The bat body consists of a circular wall extended along a central axis thereof, a hollow space formed in the circular wall, and a plurality of ribs disposed axially and projecting from an inner surface of the circular wall toward the central axis of the bat body. Thus the inner surface of the circular wall is uneven. The hollow space is filled with foam to form a foam layer. By the arrangement of the foam layer and the uneven surface of the inner surface tightly connected to the foam layer, both the structural strength and the shock absorption of the ball bat are improved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a ball bat, especially to a ball bat made from metal and able to absorb impact of a ball for shock and vibration reduction.

Descriptions of Related Art

Baseball or softball (a variant of baseball) is a kind of sports in which a player is hitting a ball with a bat and then running around a series of four bases: first, second, third and home plate. A run is scored when the player returns to the home plate. Besides individual skills, teamwork and spontaneous decision-making are also key factors in getting high scores. You never know which team is going to win in the end. Thus the baseball is an ever-changing and exciting sport, which has received the majority of public attention.

Refer to FIG. 6, a conventional ball bat made from aluminum is revealed. The aluminum bat 3 is a hollow cylindrical object. When a batter is swinging the aluminum bat 3 to hit the ball accurately, impact energy is generated. The energy is transmitted to the batter's hands through the aluminum bat 3. The impact energy varies according to a contact point between the aluminum bat 3 and the ball, the ball speed and the swing speed. The faster the swing speed, the larger the ball speed and the greater the impact force. Thus the vibration energy generated is getting larger. The vibration/impact energy may cause injuries to the batter's hands.

Moreover, there is no structural reinforcement in the aluminum bat 3. After intensive batting practice, the aluminum bat 3 is easy to get deformed or broken, and unable to be used.

Refer to U.S. Pat. No. 8,632,428, a ball bat with internal impact dampening means is revealed. A ball bat of the present invention includes a handle, a barrel and a central tube positioned coaxially within the barrel. The central tube includes at least one restriction member capable of limiting the deformation experienced by the ball bat upon impact of a ball.

Refer to U.S. Pat. No. 8,298,102, a ball bat with governed performance is disclosed. A ball bat includes a barrel in which at least one stiffening element or damping element, or both, are located. The stiffening or damping element may be positioned at various locations and may have a variety of configurations, for selectively reducing the barrel's performance without appreciably increasing the bat's moment of inertia.

In order to reduce vibration/impact energy generated while the ball bat hitting the ball, there is room for improvement and a need to provide a ball bat with novel structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a ball bat that absorbs impact from the ball and reduces vibration energy effectively. The shock and vibration transmitted to batter's hands is minimized for protect the batter from hand injuries. The ball bat provides shock absorption and vibration reduction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a ball bat with improved structural strength and longer service life, without being deformed and damaged easily.

In order to achieve the above objects, a ball bat of the present invention includes a bat body formed by a circular wall extended along a central axis thereof and a hollow body, and a plurality of ribs. The ribs are disposed axially on an inner surface of the circular wall and projecting from the inner surface of the circular wall toward the central axis of the bat body. Thus the inner surface of the circular wall is uneven. The hollow space is filled with foam to form a foam layer.

The foam is made from polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, phenoplastics, or polyurethane.

The ribs are arranged with the same angular spacing around the central axis of the bat body.

The cross section of the rib is rectangular.

The cross section of the rib is serrated. The overall cross section of the ribs is formed by a plurality of notches and projections. Each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected. Each notch is defined by two adjacent slopes of the two adjacent serrations and is an acute angle.

The cross section of the rib is jagged. The overall cross section of the ribs and the circular wall is formed by a plurality of notches and projections. Each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected. Each notch is defined by two corresponding slopes of the two adjacent serrations and the inner surface of the circular wall therebetween.

The ball bat of the present invention has the following advantages:

1. By uneven inner surface of the circular wall formed by the ribs arranged thereof and the foam layer formed by the foam filled in the hollow space, energy of impact and vibration generated during the moment the ball bat hit the ball is absorbed and the strength of the energy transmitted to the batter's hands is reduced. Thus the batter's hands will not feel numb or tingling and the hand injuries can also be avoided due to shock reduction and adsorption provided by the present invention.

2. The structural strength of the ball bat is improved by the uneven inner surface of the circular wall formed by the ribs arranged thereof and the foam layer formed by the foam filled in the hollow space. Thus the ball bat is durable, and not easily deformed and broken. The service life of the ball bat is extended.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing a cross sectional view of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing showing a top view of a cross section of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing showing a top view of a cross section of another embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing showing a top view of a cross section of a further embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows results of a three-point bending strength test conducted an aluminum tube and an aluminum tube filled with foam therein according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing a top view of a cross section of a prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Refer to FIG. 1, a ball bat of the present invention includes a bat body 1 and a foam layer 2. The bat body 1 is made from metal, especially aluminum alloy. The bat body 1 consists of a circular wall 11 extended along a central axis thereof, a hollow space 12 formed inside the circular wall 11, and a plurality of ribs 13 disposed axially and projecting from the inner surface of the circular wall 11 toward the central axis of the bat body 1. Refer to FIG. 2, the ribs 13 are arranged with the same angular spacing around the central axis of the bat body 1. The angle between the two adjacent ribs 13 is the same. The ribs 13 can also be disposed with different angular spacing. The inner surface of the circular wall 11 of the bat body 1 is uneven. The cross section of each rib 13 can be rectangular, as shown in FIG. 2, or serrated, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Refer to FIG. 3, the cross section of each rib 13 is serrated. The overall cross section of the ribs is formed by a plurality of notches (b) and projections (a). Each projection (a) is formed by two corresponding slopes (c1), (c2) of the same serration extended and intersected. Each notch (b) is defined by two adjacent slopes (c1), (c2) of the two adjacent serrations and is an acute angle. Refer to FIG. 4, the cross section of each rib 13 is jagged. The overall cross section of the ribs and the circular wall is formed by a plurality of notches (b) and projections (a). Each projection (a) is formed by two corresponding slopes (c1), (c2) of the same serration extended and intersected. Each notch (b) is defined by two corresponding slopes (c1), (c2) of the two adjacent serrations and the inner surface of the circular wall 11 therebetween. Moreover, the hollow space 12 of the bat body 1 is filled with foam therein so as to form the foam layer 2 in the hollow space 12 of the bat body 1.

The foam is made from polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, phenoplastics, or polyurethane.

When a batter uses the bat body 1 to hit the ball, impact energy generated during the moment the bat body 1 striking the ball is absorbed by the uneven surface formed by the ribs 13 on the inner surface of the bat body 1 and the foam layer 2 formed in the hollow space 12. The uneven surface formed by the ribs 13 on the inner surface of the bat body 1 can have micro-deformation. Thus the impact energy that causes numbness or tingling in hands will not be transmitted to the batter's hands. The vibration is reduced and the shock is absorbed to protect the batter from hand injuries.

Furthermore, both the uneven inner surface of the circular wall 11 of the bat body 1 and the foam layer 2 formed in the hollow space 12 can increase structural strength of the bat body 1. Thus the bat body 1 will not be deformed and damaged easily. The bat body 1 is more durable.

Refer to FIG. 5, results of a three-point bending strength test conducted on an aluminum tube and an aluminum tube filled with foam therein are revealed. Compared the curve of the aluminum tube and that of the aluminum tube filled with foam, it is learned that strength and rigidity of the aluminum tube filled with foam are 12.4% higher than those of the aluminum tube at the site of 1 mm. At the site of 10 mm, the strength and rigidity of the aluminum tube filled with foam are 16% higher than those of the aluminum tube.

In addition, tap the aluminum tube and aluminum tube filled with foam therein or hit the ground with the aluminum tube and the aluminum tube filled with foam therein. A sound of the hand tapping on the aluminum tube with foam therein is much smaller than a sound of the hand tapping on the aluminum tube. A sound of the aluminum tube with foam therein falling to the ground is also much smaller than a sound of the aluminum tube falling to the ground. Thus the aluminum tube with foam therein provides better shock absorption.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A bat body comprising: a circular wall extended along a central axis thereof, a hollow space formed in the circular wall, the hollow space being fully filled with foam to form a foam layer; and a plurality of ribs disposed axially and projecting from an inner surface of the circular wall toward the central axis of the bat body so that the inner surface of the circular wall is uneven, the foam layer conforming to the uneven inner surface of the circular wall.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foam is made from a material selecting from the group consisting of polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, phenoplastics, and polyurethane.
 3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein a cross section of each rib is rectangular.
 4. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein a cross section of each rib is serrated; an overall cross section of the ribs is formed by a plurality of notches and projections; each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected while each notch is defined by two adjacent slopes of the two adjacent serrations and is an acute angle.
 5. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein a cross section of each rib is jagged; an overall cross section of the ribs and the circular wall is formed by a plurality of notches and projections; each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected while each notch is defined by two corresponding slopes of the two adjacent serrations and the inner surface of the circular wall therebetween.
 6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein adjacent ones of the ribs are arranged with the same angular spacing therebetween around the central axis of the bat body.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a cross section of each rib is rectangular.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a cross section of each rib is serrated; an overall cross section of the ribs is formed by a plurality of notches and projections; each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected while each notch is defined by two adjacent slopes of the two adjacent serrations and is an acute angle.
 9. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a cross section of each rib is jagged; an overall cross section of the ribs and the circular wall is formed by a plurality of notches and projections; each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected while each notch is defined by two corresponding slopes of the two adjacent serrations and the inner surface of the circular wall therebetween.
 10. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cross section of each rib is rectangular.
 11. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cross section of each rib is serrated; an overall cross section of the ribs is formed by a plurality of notches and projections; each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected while each notch is defined by two adjacent slopes of the two adjacent serrations and is an acute angle.
 12. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cross section of each rib is jagged; an overall cross section of the ribs and the circular wall is formed by a plurality of notches and projections; each projection is formed by two corresponding slopes of the same serration extended and intersected while each notch is defined by two corresponding slopes of the two adjacent serrations and the inner surface of the circular wall therebetween. 